CALL HIM HONOURABLE – THE STORY OF A FORMER MOTORBIKE RIDER

Mr Effiong Edet Effiong, now answering to the title ‘honourable’, perfectly described his former life as one that had been ‘manhandled, ruffled and squeezed not just by poverty but abject poverty’ which bread anger, frustration and aggression. He was a motorbike rider, riding a jalopy assembled in a makeshift fashion by various roadside mechanics. He would leave home in the morning and after working all day in the blistering sun, come home with nothing, day after day. Most of the money he gained, he would have to spend on repairing the bad motorbike. Like many making a hard living on the unfriendly streets, he developed the bad habit of smoking. As a rider carrying people from one place to another, he heard so many stories, some of them strange. One of them was about Prophet T.B. Joshua, the man whom people said was performing miracles.  Some said negative things about him. He was confused and one day decided to ask his wife if she had heard anything about the prophet. Her answer was an emphatic, “Yes” and that she had actually seen him preach on Emmanuel TV through the black-and-white television in his house. His wife insisted he came to The SCOAN despite any nasty or discouraging stories he might have heard. He resignedly agreed and came to The SCOAN using money borrowed from various friends. So desperate was he that as he was coming, he said to himself, “I will roll on the floor outside the church if necessary just to get seen by the man of God.” He knew that he would get solution and was not ready to go back with the same problems. He sat in the canopy and “sang louder, danced faster and prayed harder than anybody else.” Such was his belief that this was the end of his life of hardship. Having received the Anointing Water and Stickers, on his way back to his state, he prayed to God, “If You are the One who created the Heavens and earth, please, do not let me continue riding on this bike again”. Mighty miracles started happening. His state launched a poverty alleviation project and he was one of the lucky few given a brand new vehicle for business. His joy was so much that he slept for two days in the car before going home. The same man from the state Governor’s Office called him for a big contract not long after and he was able through this venture to register a company. He enrolled at school and successfully passed his OND and HND qualifications which were far off dreams for him to achieve in his former position of poverty. One contract after another came his way and he was able to buy a property. He is now a proud home owner and the employer of 14 staff. He stopped his wife from selling fish and bought her a personal car. His influence in the state became prominent and was encouraged by a friend that as God was with him, he should stand for election in his local government. He won the position. A few weeks later, the chairman of his local government gave him the gift of another brand new car. “I came to share this testimony to give others hope that if a motorbike rider could be elevated to the position of an honourable member of the local government, your position would soon change as long as you continue to believe and trust in God!” He testified.